The present invention relates to a unit for feeding semifinished parts to a forming machine, particularly a press.
Known feed units of the aforementioned type comprise a loading station in which a stack of semifinished parts is loaded on to a carriage; and an unloading station in which the parts are gripped and withdrawn one by one off the stack by a handling device and fed on to the press.
The efficiency of known units of the aforementioned type depends on the accuracy with which the stack is positioned on the carriage, any errors in which affect the pickup position of the handling device in relation to the part.
To overcome the above drawback, self-adjusting devices are provided for determining the position of the stack in relation to the carriage by means of a number of sensors connected to a processing unit, which recalculates the zero position of the handling robot to compensate for any error in the position of the stack.
In addition to the complex design and, hence, high cost involved, such devices are also difficult to regulate.